I did a ton of research on this piece. When I've got an extra minute, I'm going to add on a list of references, with links.
Now! Let's have a heated debate!
Extra bit: I've now placed a donation button on the left of this page. So if you appreciate my work and would like to help
me do more, please consider sending me a small donation. Thank you.
The reference links for the strip are in the next blog entry.
Posts
82 comments:
Wow, Darryl! It's amazingly good. I am awed by it. All that and Psyciatric Tales, too! I've told DH he should review it for the BMJ/Yellow Journal, btw! More power to your pen, my friend.
Brilliant.
this is really really good Darryl. Thank you
sorry, spelled something wrong. (Holy) Pshitt!!!<-- an orangade drink still sold in France I think--I haven't been anywhere since my husband and I have had the fouth and fifth of my sons, who have autism. jean
I really love this. Thanks for sharing it!
On the nitpicky spelling side, on page 13, the last panel, "lackeys" is missing the E.
Really good, excellent stuff. I knew most of th story but not Wakefield's motivation, must have taken you ages just to research this, never mind draw it!
Spotted a couple of typos (I know, I'm a grammar nazi ...!)
Page 8, first box - should be expenses
pg 12 box 3: should be colonoscopies and lumbar punctures
pg 13 last box ... lackies
Loved it, great job. Btw: lawyers
Brilliant way to end it mate!
Hi. This is really interesting. I'm curious, did Wakefield report a link between the mercury in the MMR vaccination and autism? As I understand it, mercury comes up a lot in the debate; what did you find in the research about that? I'm looking forward to seeing your bibliography, too. Thanks for sharing this piece.
What's worse is that this charlatan, this harmful fraud, has written his own "boo-hoo I'm being persecuted" book and it's being published: http://www.amazon.com/Callous-Disregard-Autism-Vaccines-Tragedy/dp/1616081694/
texty: there is not and never has been mercury in the MMR vaccine.
FYI, many studies have looked for a link between thimerosal-containing vaccines (thimerosal is an antimicrobial compound of which mercury is one component) but no connection has ever been found.
For the author: I love this! I think pediatricians should print up copies for their waiting rooms. BTW, I think it's "Barr" not "Bar."
Texty and Isles. Thimerosal has never been the issue in in Britain that it has been in the US, and it wasn't part of Wakefield's study. It's no longer used in the MMR vaccine. If Thimerosal had been implicated in any way as a cause of autism, then its removal should have resulted in a drop in autism rates. Nothing of the sort has happened.
Darryl
Absolutely brilliant! Loved it! This needs to be seen by everyone.
Thanks for the enlightenment. We were just about to fall under a fraud of this sort over here in Chile. It started as an e-mail hoax and then made its way to newspapers and TV news. Can you believe that? At least you fell for a paper, we went nuts for some cheap spam!
Great cartoon - more people need to see this. Just one more nitpicky spelling correction though - it should be 'fundamental principle', not 'principal'.
Wow - this is really great. Am going to check out the rest of your work right now!
Thanks for drawing this (including the research it took!) I hope it sets some people straight.
Here are the edits you requested:
1. p. 2 "Proven truth" As a scientist, I have to tell you that (a) scientists never "prove" anything (that's for mathematicians) but attempt at most to make statements that are extremely reliable. And scientists don't much like the word "truth" either. How about "Scientific evidence is seen as just a matter of opinion, rather than objective reality."
2. p. 7: for Bar read Barr
p. 11: "no child ... their" Make this agree in number.
p. 13: for "lackys" read "lackeys" or "lackies"
p. 15: For "like" read "as if"
and delete "would" from "and that editors would assign"
and a question mark at the end of that sentence.
Brilliant. I really love it.
Very well done. The only other edit I see is that principal should be principle.
Thank you.
Great work Darryl. I was dimly aware of this , but had no idea the level of mendacity involved. As ever you elucidate complex subjects brilliantly.
As a comic artist myself, I believe comics are the best way to portray complex ideas like this in a popular form. Just brilliant. Thank you. If you ever publish it, I'll order a bunch of copies for my non-science believing friends!
Wonderful.
yes prove a conspiracy theory wrong by smacking it with one of your own...Fire with fire..
I far prefer your comic to Wakefield's bleating which is comedy in its own right!
Nicely done. I'm spreading this around like its a virus or something...
This is superb! I'm going to share it like there's no tomorrow :D
Darryl
This is quite brilliant - your work is really inspiring. This is a very important subject, I kept my children from having their MMR jab for years because of this. I remember watching a TV docu-drama on wakefield and the MMR story, and they seemed to side with him. The fact the authorities were bugging his phone seemed like proof to me that they were trying to get rid of him, and so I took it that he was the good guy in all this, and the victim. Your work shows the opposite is true, which is very surprising.
Keep up the great work!
dave (http://davemiller.org)
I posted a link to this on a web site for vaccination practitioners. One has replied Is this copyrighted, or could I use it in teaching packs - its excellent.
No doubt you'd like to make some money out of this. OTOH, it may be difficult for people teaching practitioners about vaccination to get funding for teaching materials. How should I respond?
Hi Penglish.
Can you ask them to email me directly. darryltoon@googlemail.com. I'm very keen for this work to be used in education.
Great work.
I just bought 2 copies of Psychiatric Tales today
Wonderful! Very thorough and fabulously drawn!
I just blogged about your unmasking of Wakefield (and included an excerpt of page 8 as an illustration, hope that's ok).
Nice! You are a good man.
Outstanding timing on your part -- several stories on measles striking back this week.
Plus, others rave about this piece. I think you've got a hit.
Did you replace page 11 on flickr? It's not showing up on the blogspot version; I think you have to refresh the link from flickr.
your blog is nice and has good commnets also. thanks for posting good articles.
Sato Printer
Genius, Daryl, pure genius.
I truly did not understand the story with Dr. Wakefield and was being taken by the media blitz toward making him a hero. Thank you for clearly illustrating (no pun intended) the details.
Elaine Hall
The Miracle Project
www.coacheonautism.com
author, Now I See the Moon
Wow, this was awesome.
I just spotted one typo that noone had referred to, I think: page 5, panel 4 has "Wakfield".
Jana
Darryl - You're right that Wakefield was all about MMR, not thimerosal, and that if thimerosal were related to autism, the precipitous drop in its use in US vaccines should have (but did not) lead to a drop in autism rates.
Where you're not quite right is in saying that thimerosal is "no longer used" in MMR - it never was. My understanding is that, as a sanitizing agent, it would kill off the already-attenuated measles, mumps, and rubella viruses that are necessary for the MMR vaccine to work.
(IIRC, before 1999, thimerosal was used in DTaP, Hib, and hepatitis B vaccines in the United States. I don't know about the UK.)
As the mum of a fab little boy who has autism, I am delighted to read your comic strip...it makes great sense xxx
Just a small critque... Panal 3, middle two scenes ... is in total disagreement with panal 7 last two scenes. I think you got one of them mixed up ... just FYI
Nice comic but ...
No parents complained. None, nada, zilch. An anonymous complaint (presumably Deer) was made. Evidence was disregarded and much of what Wakefield said was spun.
Of course, if it isn't MMR, where the hell are all these autistic kids coming from? I mean, I've got two.
Here's a link for you all - the other side.
Excellent work, Darryl. Just wish your panels on the slavish press coverage supporting Wakefield had included the infamous Private Eye "special edition" (the cover's at http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/324/7347/1224/
if you can squeeze it in).
A video including interesting stuff about the heroic Brian Deer.
Half the images of this biased cartoon are missing. What Doctors Dont Tell You has it right...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Laniy_q5dTg&feature=player_embedded
Very nicely and succinctly summarised.
One teeny correction-Wakefield was not a surgeon but a paediatric gastroenterologist.
It is the case, as at least one other commenter stated, that the MMR vaccine NEVER contained Thimerosal. Please see http://www.fda.gov/biologicsbloodvaccines/safetyavailability/vaccinesafety/ucm096228.htm#t1
I like your work very much. My quibble is with the implication that, because Wakefield is somewhat of a quack, there is no link between vaccines and autism.
I've gone back and forth on the issue, and currently my own mind is not made up. There have been studies looking for links between Thimerosal and autism, but I haven't seen studies that address the cumulative effect of vaccines and the various substances contained therein.
A magnificent and well illustrated expose of what happens, when you combine a misuse of scientific method with a rabid all devouring media looking for any way to increase market penetration. In the end truth and rationality are washed away in a bid to find a convienient, easily digested scapegoat ie Big Pharma or Government conspiracies.
Brilliantly done Darryl!
I for one am glad you made this, and will send people to as often as I can. I am even reposting this over to http://factsnotfantasy.com a site that fights the LIES said by the anti-vax nutters.
There is a vaccine against pertussis, whooping cough, yet 5 children have died from pertussis recently in California. As a doctor I spend a lot of time trying to educate parents on why vaccines are important and giving evidence against all kinds of misinformation in the media and on-line. Thanks for doing this.
thanks for sharing that! As a solo mum who has a child with Autism, it is really refreshing to read. I for one have chosen to spend my time making sure my beautiful child is loved, happy and has the best life possible...instead of trying to blame and point the finger. I remember once in a health shop I was told by the saleslady that I had 'given my child Autism' by allowing him to have the MMR injection. All this does is make what is a painful and hard road even harder..we don't need patronising, we need support and encouragement. Thanks again.
AWESOME! I am always tickled to find someone that is spreading the word for the other side, the side that the evidence supports: MMR vax DOESN'T equal autism! I'm a mom of a son on the autism spectrum and I know that my son's vaccines didn't cause his autism.
Suggestion for a part 2.... Wakefield's continued financial gain from this, he's opened a treatment facility in TX that 'treats' children with autism by chelation and other methods, in order to 'cure' them. He is taking advantage of parents that are scared and looking for help for their autistic kids by promising cures that don't exist.... Google it. Wakefield is a DOUCHE.
nice work. I hope someone sends this very nice, simple explanation to those US celebs that have climbed on board Wakefield's wagon in ignorance...
Great work! I'm referencing your blog/comic in my own blog entry concerned with poor immunisation uptake by nurses, and grandparents of new babies.
Great stuff, one small correction though, if it's not too late, I see this has come out a while ago: Page 5, panel 4 says Wakfield instead of Wakefield. Although "Wakfield" sounds better, considering.
Thank you. There is too much to do against all stupids that believe the various wakefields avalaible every decade. I hope someday never believes one of them.
Hi, well be sensible, well-all described
The correct spelling is "lackeys," not "lackies." Normally, I wouldn't point it out, but you asked for folks to do so.
Great job! Still, it appears that you haven't convinced all the commenters, who still want to hang on to a belief that there is a connection.
Dear Darryl,
Have you seen the BMJ today? Or the CNN coverage? I've posted on a closed group about this - I'll copy it to my blog, http://peterenglish.blogspot.com/ shortly.
Peter.
"Lackeys" not "lackies."
Nicely done. We absolutely need far more reporters with basic training in science to cover science issues.
So where is the other half of the sorry saga....? Like, did you research or deliberately refrain from establishing whether someone else is assigned to continuing the research independently/ethically? Perhaps if you were to be a carer of a severely autistic toddler/child (with bowel issues) for a couple of hours you may wish to finish the investigation cartoon strip with another two lengthy columns?
Interesting, as a parent of a child now 19, who went from very able to autistic, very shortly after the MMR jab, I would love to expedite real justice to any person truly responsible for the situation, but only when in full receipt of the truth.
Some links which question your side of the story:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFyJdWsAdp8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAy1M50PgW4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKBD2c0nRtk
Love your comic but not your story... sorry. I am sure that you won't allow this to post but at least it will get to seen by your eyes. I have done alot of research on this subject myself. It is simply not true and has been proven to be a fabricated story by the British Medical Journel. Here's a link for you to read all about it. http://letterfromserendipity.com/vaccination_problems/andrew-wakefield-me-and-the-british-medical-journal/
Great work!
Too bad contemporay autism got a hold of the wrong end of the stick as autism all figured out is the next 1000 chapters in psychology. Autism is simply the long-hand version of human thought, it has never been in a text book beore and spans from MR/DD to Einstein (really). Once we learn the autism thoughts we come up with the short hand thought you know and love as normal. With that in mind it is no wonder why research of any type is so exhausting.
Rich Shull, Inventor of the Turing motor a green triple hybird car motor named for autism hero and father of the computer, Alan Turing 1912-1954
hats off to great work!
applause
Where's the money in fact checking?
Great work, Darryl!
Please go on doing this kind of things - we desperatly need them to reach everybody!
This is a very informative cartoon. Brian Deer's portrayal is a bit off. And y'all have a small little problem: http://childhealthsafety.wordpress.com/2010/05/06/wakefield%E2%80%99s-lancet%C2%A0paper%C2%A0vindicated/
Wakefield's research has been reproduced. Regardless of his ethical violations and money he was paid for doing the research, it was valid. Let's not forget that Wakefield had an issue with Merck's MMR not all MMR or the measeles vaccine.
Tammy: Pardon me, but I tend to be fairly suspicious of the medical veracity of a blogger who apparently wrote a book about mystical flying and such, which he describes as follows:
"I not only reveal AMAZING and almost indescribable secrets about the beginnings of time, past lives, counter-gravity, creative consciousness, the clash of universes and much more… It’s NOT FICTION. Over 90% of this text happened to me in real life."
Doesn't make him sound terribly scientific, yaknow.
Haven't checked the 'Child Health Safety' blog mentioned later, but from a brief glance it appears to be part of the anti-vaccine crusade; I'd appreciate a link to an objective source, if one is available.
Great Job, darryl. Keep doing this. Regards
lupus
Darryl,
I'm a doctor working in the third (and fourth!) world these days and I've seen all kind of government and private sector data manipulation of data for whatever the cause is determined to be (both good and bad). I don't know how well your facts were researched, but on the internet today we are all subject to believing or disbelieving what we read. Typically, however, for Lancet to remove a key article like this there had to be some significant holes in his work. Nicely done.
Thanks for the posts. good stuff.
Its hard to know who to believe after all i've read. But logic tells me that multiple vaccines are going to be much harder for the human body to deal with than individual vaccines. I guess when you are at the bottom/receiving end of the media chain and all you can do is rely on the findings of others. You have to go with your gut instinct.
Mine is that singular vaccines make more sense than multiple doses given at one time.
antharding What do you mean, "logic tels me that..."?
I think you mean that paranoia tells you that. Think about it: every time you graze your knee or brush your teeth your immune system has to cope with thousands of times more antigens getting into the blood stream than with any vaccine. If our immune systems couldn't cope with this, there'd be no vertebrate life on earth!
This isn't just my ramblings - there are a lot of scientific studies showing this, such as Offit's 2002 article;[1] and there are any number of studies showing that multiple antigen vaccines are safe.
The alternative is delaying full vaccination, and leaving yourself or your child at risk of potentially fatal diseases in the meantime.
The safest thing is to get properly vaccinated, with a licensed vaccine (there has never been a single component mumps vaccine safe and effective enough to get a UK license), at the earliest opportunity, and not to delay it because of spurious fears about "multiple vaccines".
1. Offit PA, Quarles J, Gerber MA, Hackett CJ, Marcuse EK, Kollman TR, et al. Addressing parents' concerns: do multiple vaccines overwhelm or weaken the infant's immune system? Pediatrics 2002;109(1):124-9. (http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/109/1/124).
Outstanding!
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